A lawmaker has acknowledged that the British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles are ‘a hard time’ for Russia’s air defence to counter.
In preparation for its eagerly anticipated counteroffensive, Ukraine received its first donation of long-range cruise missiles from Britain in May.
Yevgeniy Balitsky, the leader of the occupied Zaporizhzhia province who was selected by Moscow, has now claimed the weapons have been causing ‘problems’ for his military.
They undoubtedly cause us difficulties with their missiles, particularly Storm Shadow, he added.
Russia admits British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles are causing problems for Putin
‘We have somehow learned how to shoot down [US-supplied] HIMARS. But the [British-supplied] Shadow ones are even harder. They arrive, and have a bigger radius.
‘So it’s a problem for us. In fact, our air defence is having a hard time with [Storm Shadow].
‘It shoots them down, but there is only a 50% chance of the missiles being shot down.’
His words confirm the impression that the missiles has been a game changer for the Ukrainians.
As recent as Tuesday, Metro.co.uk reported that a top Russian general was killed by one of the missiles while fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Other senior Russian officers are also believed to have died in the same assault.
Mr Balitsky added: ‘Out of four, three have recently reached us. Sometimes two make it. The missile is modern, although it is not the newest, but it is fast enough, and it flies properly.
‘I mean, at different speeds, at varying altitudes, changing modes, so it is not easy to shoot down.’
The GPS-guided ground-hugging missiles with a 450kg warhead have a range of around 155 miles.
This allows the Ukrainian army to hit Russian troops and supply dumps far behind the frontlines.
Storm Shadow is a low-observable, long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA.